January 31, 2017 at 6:17 p.m.
Schools choose tourney location
Rays of Insight
Basketball, basketball, basketball.
The Super Bowl is this weekend, but local fans seem not to care at all. (That’s most likely because of Colts fans’ maniacal hatred of the New England Patriots.)
There was not a single question about football this time around.
Instead, it all revolves around hoops. Everything is covered, from where we play the games to whether a coach should still have his job to who the highest-scoring players are in the history of the county.
Let’s see if we can satisfy the appetite for basketball with some answers.
Why is the girls basketball sectional at Homestead year after year? Why not rotate it year after year?
—Trent Muhlenkamp,
Fort Recovery
Before answering the question, let’s look at the history.
This will mark the third consecutive year and fifth in the last six that the Class 4A Sectional 6 girls basketball tournament has been held at Homestead. (Fort Wayne South Side broke the streak in 2014.)
Before that it was held at Marion in 2011, Jay County in 2010, Fort Wayne North Side in 2009 and Huntington North in 2008.
Sectional hosts for basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball are determined by the schools involved, not the IHSAA.
There are a variety of factors that go into choosing a sectional site. One is viability of facilities, as sports baseball and softball typically require lights.
There is often also an effort to choose a centralized host, which is always a point against Jay County.
(In the current group, Muncie Central and the Patriots are the outsiders while half of the group is based in Fort Wayne.)
The Super Bowl is this weekend, but local fans seem not to care at all. (That’s most likely because of Colts fans’ maniacal hatred of the New England Patriots.)
There was not a single question about football this time around.
Instead, it all revolves around hoops. Everything is covered, from where we play the games to whether a coach should still have his job to who the highest-scoring players are in the history of the county.
Let’s see if we can satisfy the appetite for basketball with some answers.
Why is the girls basketball sectional at Homestead year after year? Why not rotate it year after year?
—Trent Muhlenkamp,
Fort Recovery
Before answering the question, let’s look at the history.
This will mark the third consecutive year and fifth in the last six that the Class 4A Sectional 6 girls basketball tournament has been held at Homestead. (Fort Wayne South Side broke the streak in 2014.)
Before that it was held at Marion in 2011, Jay County in 2010, Fort Wayne North Side in 2009 and Huntington North in 2008.
Sectional hosts for basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball are determined by the schools involved, not the IHSAA.
There are a variety of factors that go into choosing a sectional site. One is viability of facilities, as sports baseball and softball typically require lights.
There is often also an effort to choose a centralized host, which is always a point against Jay County.
(In the current group, Muncie Central and the Patriots are the outsiders while half of the group is based in Fort Wayne.)
It’s also worth noting that while JCHS hasn’t hosted a girls basketball sectional since 2010, it hosts the wrestling, boys swimming and girls swimming sectional meets, and the wrestling regional, every year. While the Patriots would be happy to host sectional basketball, there may well be an effort to spread the workload rather than adding a fourth sectional tournament at JCHS in the winter.
••••••••••
Is it time for Tom Crean to go?
—Gabe Faulkner, Dunkirk
It’s getting harder and harder for me to say no to this question, but I still will do it.
The 13-point loss Sunday to Northwestern was not so bad, given that James Blackmon Jr. and OG Anunoby were both out because of injuries. The 30-point loss Thursday to an average Michigan squad was embarrassing.
However, I still go back to what I’ve been saying for years to those who want to can Crean. Just remember how it was before he arrived.
The Indiana program was in disarray thanks to NCAA violations from the short-lived Kelvin Sampson era. Scholarship players fled. The 2008-09 team finished 6-25 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten.
Crean’s teams have won at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons and have been to the Sweet 16 three times.
A lot of schools would be thrilled with that kind of performance. Hoosier fans seem to think IU should be a Duke-level squad that is a national title contender every single season.
That’s a nice dream, but ultimately, probably unrealistic.
•••••••••
Who are the four 1,000-point scorers in Jay County High School history?
—Nathan Miller,
Wanamaker
Well, there aren’t four.
Three boys have reached the century mark in school history. Two Patriot girls have also cleared 1,000.
Jay Houck became the third player on the boys list Jan. 21 when he surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in a win over Southern Wells. The other two are 2013 graduate Brock McFarland, who finished with a program-best 1,177 points, and 1993 graduate Dan Ferrell (1,155).
Shannon Freeman, an Indiana All-Star and member of the 2011 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team, is the school’s all-time leader with 1,458 points. The other girls player to clear 1,000 points was Carissa Phillips with 1,073.
The only Jay County players with more points than Freeman pre-date JCHS. It’s a short list, topped by 1972 Redkey graduate Greg Bales (1,723). Former Bryant Owls Richard Masters (1,574) and Tom Weigel (1,529) are the others.
After this weekend’s pair of games, Houck needs to average 17.3 points per game to surpass Ferrell for second on the JCHS boys list and 20.4 to take McFarland’s top spot.
••••••••••
Is it time for Tom Crean to go?
—Gabe Faulkner, Dunkirk
It’s getting harder and harder for me to say no to this question, but I still will do it.
The 13-point loss Sunday to Northwestern was not so bad, given that James Blackmon Jr. and OG Anunoby were both out because of injuries. The 30-point loss Thursday to an average Michigan squad was embarrassing.
However, I still go back to what I’ve been saying for years to those who want to can Crean. Just remember how it was before he arrived.
The Indiana program was in disarray thanks to NCAA violations from the short-lived Kelvin Sampson era. Scholarship players fled. The 2008-09 team finished 6-25 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten.
Crean’s teams have won at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons and have been to the Sweet 16 three times.
A lot of schools would be thrilled with that kind of performance. Hoosier fans seem to think IU should be a Duke-level squad that is a national title contender every single season.
That’s a nice dream, but ultimately, probably unrealistic.
•••••••••
Who are the four 1,000-point scorers in Jay County High School history?
—Nathan Miller,
Wanamaker
Well, there aren’t four.
Three boys have reached the century mark in school history. Two Patriot girls have also cleared 1,000.
Jay Houck became the third player on the boys list Jan. 21 when he surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in a win over Southern Wells. The other two are 2013 graduate Brock McFarland, who finished with a program-best 1,177 points, and 1993 graduate Dan Ferrell (1,155).
Shannon Freeman, an Indiana All-Star and member of the 2011 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team, is the school’s all-time leader with 1,458 points. The other girls player to clear 1,000 points was Carissa Phillips with 1,073.
The only Jay County players with more points than Freeman pre-date JCHS. It’s a short list, topped by 1972 Redkey graduate Greg Bales (1,723). Former Bryant Owls Richard Masters (1,574) and Tom Weigel (1,529) are the others.
After this weekend’s pair of games, Houck needs to average 17.3 points per game to surpass Ferrell for second on the JCHS boys list and 20.4 to take McFarland’s top spot.
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